A data packet can include information to be communicated through a network, such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). The data packet can be formed according to a communications protocol, such as the Internet Protocol (IP). The data packet can include a header having one or more header fields that convey additional information about the data packet. For example, the data packet can include a header field that has an IP address of the computing device that sent the data packet. The data packet can include another header field that has another IP address of another computing device intended to receive the data packet.
Computing devices can transmit data packets through a network to communicate with one another. Typically, the network-hardware components (e.g., routers, hubs, switches, etc.) that form the physical infrastructure behind the network route the data packets to their destinations on a “first come, first serve” basis. That is, the network-hardware components analyze and forward the data packets in the order in which the data packets were received.